BEYOND THE RAINBOW

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - THE DEN OF INIQUITY

A week later Tanouie was still trying to analyse why she had let her best friend sacrifice himself on her behalf. Despite the burgeoning success of Paradise and the inspirational support of her Ladies, she was chafing at the bit to follow him.

If her impatience was tinged with the draw of Lucifer, she disregarded it. She did not dream of him as Nitas anymore. Nitas D'Angelo no longer existed. Though he was the subject of a police manhunt, the tabloids had moved on to far more important headlines.

John Freeman and his media team had left. Even Paradise was now taking a backseat to World unrest and freak weather conditions resulted in a flux of natural disasters. Meanwhile, resolving the problems of the poor was destabilizing the status quo. The rich were in a panic and outside of the protected world of Paradise everything was changing. People were no longer meekly accepting political rulings on issues of social justice. Terrorist cells were being hunted by those they sought to intimidate. Anarchy was rife and it appeared that Hell was breaking loose all over the globe. Resuming the mission was becoming more crucial by the day.

Many more of Diana's warriors had infiltrated the green army and Galen was commanding a force to be reckoned with. His warriors were deployed to trouble spots all over the globe. They were still not openly interfering with the human's progress, but there was no restriction on the use of light bows and swords in the Earth's defence and outbreaks of the Horde were being dealt with. All be it, with discretion wherever possible. But the terror of Earthlings in isolated areas of dense forestation, prolonged darkness or even unlit ghettos, was escalating as attacks of vampire bat's were increasingly reported. It was only a matter of time before open war would bring the cruel game to a head. Tanouie feared their scariest horror movies would pale by comparison. Unless she could get her warriors to the Underworld and take the Beast down before he broke loose en masse. It helped her to harden her resistance to Lucifer's draw on her dreams just by reminding herself that he was one of the Celestial game masters condoning this escalating carnage.

"At least they will have no more of Gaia's children to torture. Let them educate their own clay pot puppets to our satisfaction in future!" If there was a future. Tanouie fumed over the delay in securing it. A promise was never so onerous as the granting of Jaddai's week of grace.

On day six, amid the budding concern being voiced via breaking news as to the absence of newly registered pregnancies on a world scale, Rollo's pregnant partner arrived. That allayed fears of infertility in Paradise. And pampering Adina was the perfect distraction to lure the Royal Ladies-in-waiting off Tanouie's case.

"We must have a baby shower!" Brianna exclaimed.

"Oo! The very thing! Cup cakes and balloons!" Neenie seconded gleefully. Within hours the entire compound was up to its neck in planning a celebration of new life festival.

So it was that at dawn on the seventh day Tanouie made her getaway without fanfare. Dressed in the camouflaging garb of a warrior huntress she wore a mottled green hoodie over her matching tunic and leggings. Her feet were shod in brown kid-leather ankle boots and her hair was severely braided down her back, minus any adornment. Her only lead to the vortex portal was through the private lift to the penthouse tower, so she made her way there, expecting to use the Gaia ring to locate it, but when the lift doors opened Hattie stood there waiting. "Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Hattie! But I cloaked myself, how can you see me?"

"Because the Gaia allowed me to and I promised I would keep an eye on you."

"You're a friend of Cigi's? How did that come about?"

"I didn't say that and you better ask her. Now in you come, quickly," The outer door closed as soon as Tanouie stepped into the lift.